


The Enforcer

by milka121



Category: Tales of Zestiria
Genre: Angst, M/M, Time Loop, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-26
Updated: 2017-07-26
Packaged: 2018-12-07 05:38:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11617032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/milka121/pseuds/milka121
Summary: “Mikleo,” the old seraph says after a little while, breaking the silence that has settled between them, “do you know what your true name means?”





	The Enforcer

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Day 5 of sormik week: Truth/Time prompt. 
> 
> Shoutout to Neodiji and [kurainosouske](https://kurainosousuke.tumblr.com/) for beta-ing! Thank you so much!

“Luzrov Rulay.”

The words linger on Gramp’s tongue a little bit longer than they should. They sound different than Mikleo has expected they would. He was so excited that the time has come - that finally he will be given a true name. A simple sound that will determine his own being, tie together his past, present and future, and uncover his true self.

In Gramp’s mouth, the words sound bitter.

“Mikleo,” the old seraph says after a little while, breaking the silence that has settled between them, “this name holds a very special meaning. Do you know what your true name means?”

Mikleo nods his head. The smile appears on his face; the years of learning with Sorey made him speak the ancient language nearly as well as his first one. “Mikleo the Enforcer.”

Gramps sends him a strange look and huffs a cloud of smoke out of his pipe. He is searching for something, Mikleo realizes; Gramps must be checking if that really is Mikleo’s name. Gramps has doubts about it. He worries.

Mikleo straightens his spine a little bit more, trying to appear bigger, older - which is pretty hard to do, considering that he is ten, small, and sitting down, but he tries nonetheless.

“The Enforcers do not live for themselves,” Gramps says. “They are bound to other people. Their fates are not for them to decide; they are carrying the worlds of others.” The smoke spreads in the room, lingers down on the floor,, and blends with the cold air. “It’s both a sign of trust and companionship, and a curse.”

Curse. This is a heavy word for Gramps to use - curses are strange and sly, they are dangerous and born from malevolence, their only purpose to bring pain, suffering. The curses are the lowest of the low, the signs of an absolute hatred.

And Mikleo is cursed.

Gramps sighs and shakes his head, the smoke around him dancing and disappearing into the air. “Nonetheless, it’s a very powerful name, Mikleo. You should be proud of carrying it, no matter what the consequences of its power will be.”

There is a hint of reassurance in his voice, so Mikleo bows his head and fakes understanding.

* * *

One day, it just happens.

Sorey laughs, turns around while talking excitedly with Mikleo, and loses his balance.

Mikleo sees the surprise cross Sorey’s face before the boy falls down into the chasm surrounding Mabinogio Ruins.

Mikleo is too terrified to scream.

And suddenly, he opens his eyes he didn’t even know he had shut; he is back in his house, and Sorey is with him, the green eyes as bright and full of life as ever. Mikleo starts crying.

Sorey blinks sheepishly and frowns. “What’s wrong?” he asks and wraps his arms around Mikleo’s smaller form. Mikleo can only sob louder. Sorey’s voice, Sorey’s body is _real_ , it’s here, it’s _back_ -

It’s only when they go out of the house, when they run together to play in the ruins, when Sorey sends him a bright smile and trips and falls down, down again, that Mikleo realizes that he was wrong.

Sorey isn’t the one who’s back. Mikleo is.

* * *

The next time, Mikleo refuses to let Sorey’s hand go all day, until they come home safely. Sorey whines and complains, saying that it’s no fun when they can’t even race properly, but Mikleo does not listen to him.

He can’t - he _won’t_ ever let Sorey go.

* * *

As the time flows and reflows, Mikleo realizes how fragile humans can be. It’s scary to imagine that Sorey can lose his life because of something petty and seemingly unimportant, like a wound that they didn’t clean well enough, or because they played in the water just a little bit too long.

But Mikleo doesn’t need to imagine it. He sees it all with his own eyes, but he learns quickly. He has to.

He is the Enforcer.

And Sorey… If Sorey is to be the person he ought to be, he can never, ever know. But it’s all right. Mikleo will be able to bear the pain by himself and manage - this is his curse, after all.

He’s not a naive child. Not anymore.

* * *

Mikleo is hesitant when they find the girl in the ruins. She carries a weapon, for one thing - she is a trained soldier, a person who does not hesitate to kill if she must. Sorey never was like that. If it comes to the worst, he will not be able to defend himself against someone who appears so fragile at first glance.

It is only natural that Mikleo is hesitant if he knows what could happen.

(The girl’s eyes widened when she noticed her spear in Sorey’s hands, and she reacted instantly, out of sheer human instinct to kill or be killed. It was a matter of seconds. It happened so fast a smile didn’t even disappear from Sorey’s face when she snapped his neck.)

Mikleo suggests leaving her alone, but Sorey only frowns and shakes his head. “We can’t just leave her there!”

They can. They did, actually. Mikleo convinced Sorey to leave her alone before, but as soon as Mikleo’s back was turned, Sorey came right back to help the girl. He always did. They were destined to meet, no matter what Mikleo has tried to stop it from happening. She starts it all; trying to avoid her is like trying to avoid fate itself.

Sorey always does what he wants to, and Mikleo cannot control him; he cannot force his will onto the boy. Mikleo cannot change his mind.

Mikleo’s role is to support Sorey and to protect him. Not to choose.

The girl brings death with her, always. The fox man trails after her, and even if her own actions can be justified by her human nature (Mikleo hates using that wording), the hellion’s can’t. He is there only to destroy, to remind Mikleo that they are never safe.

The fox-looking man, with a devious and sly smile, laughs at their attempts to chase him off. They are too weak to win. They should had run away when they had a chance.

Mikleo knows all too well that Sorey won't back off like that - there is something in his expression that tells Mikleo not to even try suggesting that idea. Sorey is determined and stubborn, his eyes fixed on the monster while attacking relentlessly, even if their blows become weaker and weaker, and their opponent just keeps getting stronger.

_Where is Gramps?_ , Mikleo wants to scream. Where are the rest of the seraphim? Why is there no one who could help them? Why is it Mikleo who has to be the one to save Sorey, time and time again?

"Sorey, dodge!" Mikleo screams. Sorey doesn't hesitate; he obeys Mikleo's order and the hellion's claws clench just an inch too far to deal any real damage to the human.

(But they did, they did, and Mikleo saw how Sorey struggled to breathe with his throat crushed and his stomach open while the monster laughed in their faces and-)

Mikleo backs off and starts to cast an arte, silently begging for Sorey to avoid doing anything risky while he is occupied by muttering the prayers in the ancient tongue. Just a little longer. If Sorey manages to distract the monster for just a few seconds more, he'll be able to restrain it by freezing it in place. That way, the monster will not be able to move; they will have a chance to flee, or mortally wound it, or-

The hellion hisses with irritation. He lunges forward and, to Mikleo's surprise, dodges Sorey's attack and jumps in Mikleo's direction, his teeth bared and his eyes glimmering in triumph.

Mikleo braces himself and closes his eyes, waiting for the pain.

It never comes.

"Mik-Mikleo."

He hears Sorey's broken voice.

Oh no. No, no, not again, not like that-

When Mikleo opens his eyes again, he is back at the beginning.

* * *

He decides Sorey would be better off without him. It seems to be the only logical explanation as to why he has failed to protect Sorey up until now; Sorey needs no protection. It’s Mikleo who is weak, pathetic, and always brings the other down.

(Because, for every time he saves Sorey, there is the one that he hadn’t-)

He steps aside. He declines every offer Sorey makes - he stops exploring ruins with him, he fakes his lack of interest towards ancient history, he is mean and rude and he does _everything_ to make Sorey despise him; he plays superior, he emphasizes that they are different, that _he is a seraph, and therefore he is better_ , and points out all of Sorey’s shortcomings for the world to see.

And it’s okay, he repeats to to himself over and over again, it’s all okay if it will make Sorey get out of this alive, if it will make Sorey more focused on himself and keep him safe in the end.

It doesn’t.

It just makes it much more sad when Mikleo fails.

* * *

Mikleo knows exactly when Sorey decides to depart from Elysia. He has figured this out out long ago, he can see the signs, something in the way Sorey becomes quieter and almost comically apologetic all of a sudden. One could mistake this for grief or simple sadness - but Sorey is not a person to wallow in grief, and he does not let himself be absorbed by the dark feelings.

Mikleo knows him so well, being with Sorey through all of the previous... _chances_.

But he lets Sorey go alone, because apparently that's what Sorey needs. Mikleo lies awake, looking at the ceiling of his house and trying not to listen when Sorey shuffles around, so loud to Mikleo's ears that it is surely meant to be mocking, if not by Sorey himself, then by whoever has cursed Mikleo to this fate. Mikleo does not give in to tears. He has cried enough as it is.

He cries again when they discover Sorey’s body in pieces, torn apart by hellions on the way to Ladylake.

* * *

Mikleo still does not lose hope, even in the darkest of moments, when he holds Sorey's inert head in his lap and strokes his hair, murmuring promises he can’t keep and empty words of reassurance that are nothing but lies.

He prays and begs and screams that _it's not fair_ ; that he has never asked for this, he has never wanted to be entrusted with such a big responsibility, he has never expected that his life - his _lives_ \- will all be designed like the cruelest of jokes.

It’s like the world, against itself, wants the Shepherd dead, and it seems hopeless.

But then Mikleo wakes up at the start again in a body of a child far too innocent for his tired mind and he can't help but be grateful that he can try one more time.

* * *

Lailah eyes him closely, looking at his whole posture as if she wants to find something. Mikleo sends her a questioning look at that, acting distant and with polite cautiousness that can be explained by the fact that he does not know her well well enough yet to be completely at ease. (He does not know her this time; they are not yet close enough to weep together when Sorey-)

"Your eyes look so old for your age," she comments, her voice barely louder than a murmur. "Are you really only as old as you say?"

Mikleo raises his chin and sends her a sweet smile - a mask that he has learned to show a long time ago. "Yes, Lady Lailah. I'm only about Sorey's age."

She nods, but Mikleo can almost feel her doubt. Lailah looks at him with concern just barely present in her gaze. Maybe she is suspecting of something, but she will never know for sure what Mikleo knows. No one will ever know.

And it's a good thing, because Mikleo does not think any of them could ever trust him if they knew how many times he has betrayed them all to protect Sorey.

* * *

Mikleo is unable to count how many times it has been - how many times he has failed to be Sorey's Enforcer. Sometimes he thinks that it will never end; that it is some kind of a sadistic game, the only purpose of it to make Mikleo insane.

And he is going to end up mad some day, he's sure of it. There are times when he looks at the face of a human - a bystander, now - who has hurt Sorey, and can't help but feel the rage overflowing him. He wants to kill. He wants to tear them apart for touching Sorey, every one of them, taking his sweet time to make them suffer as much as Sorey did - as he did-

But then Sorey looks at him with his eyes full of life and happiness and hope, and Mikleo forgets for just a little while about how pathetic it all is.

* * *

"I will have to wait, and sleep."

Mikleo hates it.

"I understand," he replies instead, the words leaving his mouth before he can so much as think about them. "If that's what you want, I will support you."

Sorey looks at him with fondness in his eyes, and a sudden warmth appears in Mikleo’s stomach. Mikleo thinks - hopes -

Before he can do anything, Sorey leans in and locks their lips together. It's soft and sweet, too good to be real, too wonderful to really happen in this world, and much too short for Mikleo’s liking. It’s the only thing he does not regret; maybe it’s a sign that everything is going to be okay this time.

They part, and there is so much affection in Sorey’s eyes that Mikleo feels like he is melting inside.

(When they fight with the Lord of Calamity, Sorey refuses to sacrifice Mikleo. He dies before Mikleo can tell him that-)

* * *

Mikleo loves Sorey.

It's the truth that never truly leaves him. It was always somewhere at the back of his mind, just waiting to come into the picture -  but when he realizes that, once and for all, it seems obvious. He wants to laugh with the world at how crazy it all is.

The only regrettable thing is that he will never be able to share this with Sorey. He won't be able to curl up beside Sorey and whisper all of the sins he’s committed for him, all his fears and traumas, because Sorey is fragile enough as he is, and Mikleo won't risk breaking him (once again).

Mikleo wishes it could be different.

It never is.

* * *

The Enforcer carries the will of someone else. The Enforcer is a guide, a shield, a protector, and an embodiment of someone else’s dream. The Enforcer is a messenger, a way for the the words of another person to reach the world.

Mikleo is none of those things.

But he tries to, gods know he tries to.

And again and again, they live in this world. Sorey meets the same people, fights the same enemies, goes towards the future as he wishes at his own pace. Mikleo struggles to keep up, but he manages. Because Sorey needs him, in the end.

And when it all fails, Mikleo needs Sorey, too.

* * *

Mikleo bits his lip. This could easily destroy all that he worked for so far, irrevocably make his efforts go to waste forever. But, then again - if it works… If taking this risk means salvation for both of them… If Sorey would know from the start, even not the whole truth, and Mikleo let him figure it out, slowly, patiently...

Mikleo comes to a decision.

“Luzrov Rulay.”

Sorey raises his eyes from the book. “I'm sorry, what?”

“Luzrov Rulay,” Mikleo repeats. “That's my True Name.”

He says it so nonchalantly, as if he isn’t shaking inside at the prospect of Sorey knowing everything.

Sorey’s eyes widen at that. “Mikleo,” he starts, his brows furrowing in confusion, “why did you tell me that? Why now?”

Mikleo shrugs. “You should know,” he replies simply.

“Oh.” Sorey shifts in place. He looks at Mikleo for a second, and then slowly a smile appears on his face. “Mikleo the Enforcer, then. ” He says it with so much affection Mikleo nearly forgets he hates it.

“It's pretty,” Sorey adds. “I think it suits you.”

Something inside Mikleo twitches at that. He looks once again at Sorey, and finds nothing but warmth in his wide open, green eyes, glancing at Mikleo with the same hopeful expression as always.

“Thank you,” Mikleo says quietly.

And for the first time in a long while, he feels at peace.


End file.
